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I SUPPOSE Bell and its Healer Ability, combined with its Ground and Electric and Water resists are useful.

Other than that, it benefits from infinite Drought, but perhaps its most noticable niche is utilizing Swords Dance. Bellossom is benefited with the likes of Leaf Blade and a more powerful Drain Punch to sock Ferrothorn silly with (if not using HP Fire).

Plus, that Nature Power for Heatrans

Also, a daring fourth move is Sleep Powder or Stun Spore to catch the Volcarona who try to set up on you!

Bellossom is your run-of-the-mill Chlorophyll special sweeper. Solarbeam, HP Fire, sun-based healing move, filler move. Filler move used to be Sunny Day, then we got something with Drought that isn't in ubers. As far as filler moves go, Bellossom doesn't exactly have unlimited options. Sleep Powder is a good idea coming off of its boosted Speed stat (and allows for more opportunities to heal with Synthesis or Moonlight), and Uproar hits those Fire-types that Solar Beam and HP Fire do not. Except for Chandelure, anyway.

Life Orb gives Bellossom more power behind its attacks. Chlorophyll is a must (Healer is illegal with Uproar in any case).

With access to Swords Dance and a semi-decent physical movepool, Bellossom can pull off a physical attacking set. Leaf Blade for STAB. Nature Power becomes Earthquake, a great coverage move. You have a choice between Drain Punch or Flail. I say you have a choice between them because to run both on the same set would be counterproductive.

Focus Sash is more than likely necessary, as the sun increases the power of the Fire moves Bellossom is already weak to, and its admittedly OK defenses are getting virtually no investment here. Chlorophyll is obvious (and necessary if you're running Drain Punch).

Other options:
*Were this Vileplume, Sludge Bomb might be a workable option. Alas, Bellossom doesn't even get STAB on it... So no.
*Grass Knot, Energy Ball, or Giga Drain are all viable options over SolarBeam if you live in fear of opposing Politoed, Tyranitar, Hippowdon, or Abomasnow, but overall, if you're running Bellossom on a sun team (and if you have a shred of sanity, you are), SolarBeam is the superior choice.
*Gastro Acid is an interesting option. Can force switches, or otherwise simply screw over an opponent's strategy altogether.

Abilities:
*Chlorophyll: Generally the superior ability. Doubles Bellossom's usually pitiful Speed, allowing it to sweep in the sun.
*Healer: Eh... I'm iffy about this one. Bellossom's Hidden Ability. Has a chance of curing an ally's status condition in doubles or triples. Think of it like Shed Skin for your partners. But see, here's the thing. Gloom's original and infinitely cooler evolution, Vileplume, has similar stats to Bellossom, and learns Aromatherapy. In a single turn, it achieves all of what Healer MIGHT achieve, and more. Healer Bellossom is simply outclassed, and it's an inferior choice when compared to Chlorophyll.

Partners:
Ninetales, obviously. If you're using Bellossom, you want- no, you need the sun to be shining. Without the sun, Bellossom is outsped, outclassed, and out of luck. You also want a nice Heatran up your sleeve. Counters Chandelure like a boss, as well as any other Fire-types that threaten a Bellossom sweep.

Counters:
The best way to counter Bellossom is to take away its sunlight privileges. Be warned, though- Politoed will still take a decent hit from Leaf Blade on a physical Bellossom; Special Bellossom can dent incoming Hippowdon with Giga Drain; Tyranitar won't like switching into a Drain Punch; and even without the sun boost, HP Fire will still make a lovely dent in Abomasnow. Priority counters the Swords Dance set hard. And in the case of the special Bellossom, Chandelure walls it to hell and back.

Opinion:
Bellossom certainly isn't bad, it's just that it's outclassed in its main role as a Chlorophyll sweeper. Offhand, I can think of Victreebel, Venusaur, and Exeggutor. The latter two pack more of a punch with their special attacks, and Victreebel gets Weather Ball, leaving it free to run a Hidden Power of another type for even moar coverage. Not to mention, it lost its cool factor when it lost its Poison-type.

Yeah, most other Pokemon do this better. But this can pull off a surprise kill early in the game, where the hazards have not been set yet. Rest, then switch. Switch back in, then spam sleep talk until you wake.

Poor Bellossom. Ever since its introduction, it's been consistently outclassed by too many Grass-types. 90 base Special Attack is nothing to write home about, and even under the sun, it can't outspeed a number of Pokemon. Oh well. At least it's cute!

Should you be crazy enough to even fathom running Bellossom in OU, here is a set you could try. Sleep Powder lets Bellossom cripples some of its counters, which are plentiful. Solarbeam is a strong, reliable move under the sun, but Leaf Storm is generally better without weather. Hidden Power [Fire] helps with Ferrothorn and Scizor, while Hidden Power [Ice] can be used for dragons. Moonlight allows for recovery, while Sludge Bomb is there for an, albeit terrible, offensive option.

Partners

Before considering partners for Bellossom, you should ask yourself why you are running it in the first place. Bulky Waters are probably your best bet for partners to help cover weaknesses. Vaporeon, Alomomola, Swampert, lots could potentially work. Heal Bell or Aromatherapy users like Blissey/Chansey or Miltank could help Bellossom if it is paralysed by Prankster Pokemon.

Counters

This is kind of easy. Fire-types are probably your best bet against this offensive behemoth. Heatran and Rotom-H are perfect counters, as they resist or are immune to every move Bellossom can throw at it, and can kill it with STAB Fire moves. Dragon-types like Dragonite can also do well, but should be wary of Hidden Power [Ice]. Espeon or Xatu can also be used to switch into Sleep Powder, bounce it back, and KO or 2HKO with STAB Psyshock.

Tips:
Use pokemon that uses Toxic or other related attacks as an optional partner if you Venoshock.
If you don't use the one with Healer, get a pokemon that knows Heal Bell as an optional partner.
Don't teach Leaf Storm without a White Herb.
Don't teach Pedal Dance without a Prisim or Lum Berry.
Use a high Attack & Defence grass-resistant pokemon with Fire/Ice/Poison/Flying/Bug-Type attacks against Bellossom.

Last edited by sbktdreed; 19th September 2011 at 11:47 AM.
Reason: Additional tips and corrections.

Got Pokémon X. Intend to get either Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire.
No info about my Friend Safari.
Vivillon Pattern: Polar
Looking for nicknamed, shiny, and/or have a hidden ability in GTS and may battle at anytime.
If interested, send a private message with your ID #.

Too many to name, let's just list the weaknesses. Fire, Flying, Bug, and Poison. And with new moves like Flame charge, Acrobatics, and Venoshock, it's more likely to go down quickly. But each pokemon that uses these types won't have an easy switch in, especially if it's using sleep powder, or stun spore.

I have say, I always thought it was cute, having a little dancer dancing for me, but even I can't think of anything serious except for a novelty battle, or a practically suicidal doubles/triples support.

Apparently, I can't claim Larvesta. But who cares?
It's still the cutest bug eva!

I am The Grovyle, that friend in a high place.

The craziest battle I ever had- Toxic spikes supported baton passing team, with a Splashing Wailord. And won. You have to try it!

Yes, call me crazy, but bellossom screams out to me 'GIVE ME TRICK ROOM AND 0 EVS AND IVS IN SPEED' so that's what I give it. Synthesis to heal (duh....), Energy ball (cuz who doesn't adore a cute green bubble that knocks an opponent out?), HP Water to get rid of those firey dwellers and also the other annoying types that can't stand up to water, HP fire for ferrothorn and scizor.... ESPECIALLY SCIZORS WITH TECHNICIAN, ACROBATICS, AND A FLYING GEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HP ice for dragons, ground, and anything else you can think of with weaknessess to ice...

As partners, this set is used for a trickroom team, so a Reuniclus with toxic and trickroom would be great, but if you somehow, were silly enough to try and find a slow pokemon that can have toxic, trickroom, and sunny day, then you'd be wasting an entirely reasonable pokemon for a crap one...

Why on earth would you use Seed Bomb when Leaf Blade has more power and a high crit ratio?

I'll contribute a little something later, but Bellossom...it's just so...blah.

Why? Because people forget that Leaf Blade got a 20 point boost to its Base Power in 5th Gen.

Blah is right...you are predicted as either being an Annoyer (by Taunt) or a very predictable attacker due to a limited offensive Movepool...even Venusaur has a little more variety in 5th Gen, though it has fewer offensive options...

Speaking of Venusaur, options to counter Bellossom also include faster Chlorophyll users, most likely those with Super-Effective STAB:
-Vileplume Speed-ties you with Poison STAB
-Venusaur and Victreebel are faster with Poison STAB
-Jumpluff has-but-doesn't-need Chlorophyll to make your existence miserable with Flying STAB and status-chucking
-Tropius has a Base Speed higher by 1 point and Flying STAB
-Leavanny has Bug STAB and better Speed
-Tangrowth Speed-ties you and has considerable bulk
-Other Chlorophyll users not named "Sunflora" have a Speed advantage and options

Yeah...the deck is rather stacked against Bellossom...not to mention changing the weather from Sun to Rain, Hail, or Sandstorm is so easy to do...

Why? Because people forget that Leaf Blade got a 20 point boost to its Base Power in 5th Gen.

I thought It was 90 BP in gen 4 to...(70 in gen 3)
Also I don't see what this Pokemon can do that another Pokemon can't do more effectively... (especially chlorophyll users as it only beats Sunflora) maybe it could give healer support in multis but otherwise it's far less useful than it's competitors otherwise...
poor thing only thing notable is I used to have a shiny one....(still wishes I had a leafstone back then) Lastly anyone else think male Bellosooms are creepy?

There's a lot of options. Giga drain hits hard and also gives you recovery. Petal Dance hit crazy at 120 but can cause status but is still a good move. Just make sure to switch him out after 2 turns. Leaf Storm is also a good move but reduces Sp. Atk. Just like Petal Dance, switch after use. Sludge Bomb is a coverage and it hits crazy. Hidden Power [Rock] cover his weakness. Substitute is to hit from the enemy and also activate your berry, once you stick with it. Moonlight and Synthesis heals and work better with sun team. Stun Spores is a status move that reduces the opponent's speed while Sleep Powder is a force switch out.

This is only for double/triple battle. Substitute and Protect protects you. Stun Spores ruins Sweepers. Teeter Dance is a force switch out. Toxic Kills in 6 turn once didn't cure. Attract immobilized pokemon. Good one but only if your opponent is reversed as your gender. Tickle and Charm decreases stat while Lucky Chant prevent critical hit. synthesis heals you. Leaf Storm and Giga Drain is to prevent being a taunt bait

Force a swap out on a pokemon such as Swampert, then use substitute. Cause para-fusion, and attack. Giga Drain is just in case your foe changes the weather while restoring health, and solar beam takes advantage of sunlight.

For the EVs of this set, there are multiple spreeds. 248 speed is fast enough to outpace Crobat, 204 is fast enough to outpace base 120s, and 160 is fast enough to outrun base 110s, all without a +Speed nature. Put the rest into defenses, and give it a +Defensive/Sp.defense nature.

Everything that Bellossom does, Lilligant does better, cause it has much more Speed and Sp Atk than Bellosom, although bulkier Bellossom cannot use its bulky perfectly since Grass have 5 Weakness and 2 of them are the most popular (Fire and Ice) the only thing that it can do with its bulk is a toxic /protect/moonlight/teeteer dance .

But, the only thing that Bellossom does and Lilligant can't do is the following:

(I know that there are pokemons who do this set better, but i'm talking about RU Tier here, so don't come commenting that Venusaur does this better)

No! It's Bellossom, at the first glance you may tell :
PHYSICAL BELLOSSOM, OMG what is this guy doing?
Well, it's an alternative to what Lilligant can't do.
Swords Dance doubles your attack and Chlorophyll, your Speed, and Bellossom has the bulk to pull a SD off, Leaf Blade is STAB, Nature Power on Wi-Fi turns to EQ, Sleep Powder can help you pull SD off and the last moveslot is how you want to recover HP
Drain Punch for coverage or Moonlight that recovers 2/3 of your max HP (in the sun logically), but keep in mind that the combo Drain Punch + Nature Power is illegal, so you'll have to choose between Sleep Powder + Drain Punch or Nature Power + Moonlight

Force a swap out on a pokemon such as Swampert, then use substitute. Cause para-fusion, and attack. Giga Drain is just in case your foe changes the weather while restoring health, and solar beam takes advantage of sunlight.

For the EVs of this set, there are multiple spreeds. 248 speed is fast enough to outpace Crobat, 204 is fast enough to outpace base 120s, and 160 is fast enough to outrun base 110s, all without a +Speed nature. Put the rest into defenses, and give it a +Defensive/Sp.defense nature.

I've been testing this set, and I found it can spread paralysis with ease, so it would work well with slow sweepers and flinchers. The preferable default spread would be bold 252hp/98defense/160speed.

Edit:Oh, and giga drain is better then solar beam for this, with all of the subsitutes, you're going to want to restore HP.

I'd like to say that on all sets with it, use giga drain over energy ball. Only 5 less power, and the ability to restore health.

I've been testing this set, and I found it can spread paralysis with ease, so it would work well with slow sweepers and flinchers. The preferable default spread would be bold 252hp/98defense/160speed.

Edit:Oh, and giga drain is better then solar beam for this, with all of the subsitutes, you're going to want to restore HP.

Also, Giga Drain and Drain Punch benefit from Big Root, so a Mixed Attacker plus Annoyer is very possible, even if you are stuck with Chlorophyll (not exactly bad for multi, but not so good either, stick to Singles with this)...

Nature is a toss-up. I hate lowering my defenses for stats (hence Relaxed as a possibility), but Bellossom really can't afford to lose Speed either (since Attack is slightly lower, I chose to raise that).

Drain Punch and Giga Drain keep you healthy, but tread lightly around Tentacruel and Swalot. Azumarill is another worry - your STAB Move may work against you because of its DW Ability, Sap Sipper.

Flame Body, Poison Point, Rough Skin (usually on a very-occasional Druddigon), and Iron Barbs are issues because of switch-ins on Drain Punch. You won't be able to keep going as well if your HP gets chipped off every turn (your output on Ferrothorn will be low even with a Super-Effective hit and Big Root).

Flying, Poison, and/or Bug Types will be a hassle, as will a few Grass Types. A lack of KO potential means they can set up against you...or worse (in some cases) such as Focus Punch on your switch (more reasons to beware of Heracross and Breloom).

Ehr, non to ruin anyone's dream about a phisical bellossom... but...
drain punch and nature power used both together areILLEGAL!
nature power is a only 5th gen egg move, while drain punch is a 4th gen tm. Speaking about double edge, it's illegal with nature power because it's a 3rd gen tutor move. Unless I'm missing some weird event bellossoms, the combinations nature power&drain punch and nature power&double edge can't be used...

On the flipside, being able to do a multiple of those choices makes you less predictable. Not saying that's good for Bellossom, though, since you are dead in the water if they Taunt you ASAP...

Offense doesn't work either due to how many Pokemon still outrun it with the Sun boost. Being unpredictable does little for Bellossom compared to others. You've got variety, but not a lot to back it up...